Walk in the Gardens
by TwilightSparkle3562
Summary: Belle and Adam walk in the Royal Gardens after their dance at the celebration of the curse being broken.


Disclaimer: I do not own "Beauty and the Beast" or its characters. They are property of the Walt Disney Company and its affiliates.

"Walk in the Gardens"

By TwilightSparkle3562

The spell had been broken over the castle and one of France's many monarchs had been freed of his ten year curse as a hideous monster. He had learned to love another and earned her love in return as he laid dying from a fatal stab wound by the hunter Gaston. How he got to this moment was a moment in time that was almost too fast to take in, but that was beside the point. For he had a feeling inside of him that was growing and growing ever since the curse was broken that he had been wanting to share with the young woman who had broken the curse and set him and his kingdom free.

"She used to see as anything but a monster," thought Prince Adam as he and the young woman who freed him, Belle, walked through the royal gardens. "Now, I need to ask her the question I have been wanting to ask her for a while now. We are alone now, but why am I nervous? I love her and I know she loves me."

Adam looked up to the sky and saw that the sun was already beginning to set. It's gold color starting to streak across the sky like a ray of hope. But, there was another gold goddess standing right next to him. Belle was the most beautiful woman he had ever met, a savior to him and his kingdom at a time when they really needed a savior. Taking a deep breath, Adam gathered all of the courage that he could muster and gave his direct attention and focus towards Belle.

"Belle," Prince Adam asked as he helped her sit down on a bench in a part of the gardens that overlooked over a small pond before sitting down next to her. "Are you happy here with me?"

A puzzled look came to Belle as she adjusted her golden ball gown. She could remember Adam asking her this question before that magical night not too long ago when they had their private dance in the ballroom that was the turning point in their relationship.

"Yes, Adam," she replied surprisingly, placing her gloved hands in his. "I am happy here with you and everyone else. My father and I are together again and Gaston is dead, so what is there to not be happy about?"

"It's just that," Adam started to say, but struggled for a moment to find the words he needed to respond. "Well, it seems like everything has happened so…so suddenly. It seems like yesterday since I was cursed and became a monster. Then, I imprisoned you and…well, I treated you more and more like a guest and not like a prisoner. Belle, you've changed my life and made me realize that there is more to life than what I was living before."

Belle was somewhat flattered by this remark. Like Adam, she was longing for a better life than the life she was living previously. In her village, she was treated as odd and as an outcast because she would much rather read books than become the object of a man's affection.

"Well," she chuckled. "I guess we both were looking for something, Adam. You were looking for love and I was looking for freedom and adventure. But, it's funny for me to say this, but I've grown accustomed to your face."

"And I have grown accustomed to yours," remarked Adam. "If I only didn't treat you as harshly as I did…"

But, Belle placed her second gloved hand on Adam's, silencing him from saying another word. All the actions that he had did to Belle when they first met did not matter anymore. What mattered was that they were together again, free of any evil of any kind.

"That's all in the past, Adam," said Belle, a smile on her face as a gust of wind blew through the gardens. "Do you feel those winds blowing through us?"

Adam looked confused for a moment, thinking that the wind was nothing more than a simile that Belle was using to get their point across.

"Those are the winds of forgiveness," she explained. "I learned from my mother long ago that if calm winds blow at you after you make an error, then those are winds who give you a sign that you are forgiven for your misdeeds. Everything that happened in the past is in the past, Adam. If we are to be together, then we must look to the future."

Adam then could see that Belle was starting to have the same idea as he. The feeling that Belle wanted to get into a mutual relationship was a sign that both Adam and Belle were indeed destined to be together forever. If there was ever a time to ask her hand in marriage, it was now. The sun was starting to come down and that they needed to be getting back to the celebration.

"Speaking of which, Belle," said Adam, rising up from the bench. "We must be getting back to the celebration. Everyone will be wondering where we are, but before we do go back, I have something of great importance to ask you."

Belle could tell that Adam was nervous as she saw him shake beyond belief like a wet leaf in autumn. In fact, even Belle could start to feel nervous throughout her body. She knew that Adam had been thinking of asking her the question that all women like her wanted to hear. Underneath all the petticoats of her gold ball gown, Belle had lost all temporary feeling in her legs and couldn't move a muscle. All she could do was sit there while Adam struggled to find his words.

"Adam, I think I know what you are going to say," said Belle, feeling tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "Are you…?"

Adam got down on one knee and took one of Belle's gloved hands in his as the shock of the question began boiling in Belle's mind.

"Belle," said Adam. "You are the most beautiful woman that I have ever met and have changed the lives of me and my servants. When I first imprisoned you, I thought of you as a trespasser come to take the place of your father. After the events with the wolves, I realized then that you are the one who is destined to be with me forever and always."

"If you are going to ask me, Adam," said Belle, happily. "Then say it."

At this point, the sun was showing off its last rays. Time was running out and Adam needed to get it out of his system.

"Belle," he asked. "Will you marry me?"

"YES!" sobbed Belle happily, jumping onto Adam and sending both of them onto the ground. "Of course, I'll marry you!"

With those words the ex-beast and his newly minted fiancée engaged in passion, kissing profusely as the sun showed off its last rays. But, both Belle and Adam knew that they needed to wait until they got behind closed doors to make love to one another.

"Come, let us announce our engagement at once," laughed Adam as he and Belle got to their feet, dusting off the grass that was on their best clothes. With her arm in hers, the two lovers made their way back to the celebration and announced their engagement to all in attendance.

Thus, thanks to all that had happened, a fresh new era in France was about to begin…


End file.
